954 Days

Ok I actually wrote this post yesterday and totally forgot to publish it.  Oops.  I didn't have a whole lot of time to work on goals in the past few days, but I'm hoping to pick up the slack this week.  I've had these two AFI list DVDs sitting here for ages, but who can bring themselves to watch "Sophie's Choice" when it's 70 and sunny? I've added a couple of new items as well.  As much as I don't want to turn this list into something that looks like an itinerary of minor errands, I figure that if it's something--however inconsequential--that I've been putting off for years (i.e., #050) then maybe adding it to the list will provide the necessary motivation I need to just go and take care of it.

042. Cook or bake 100 new recipes - (005/100)
I have been snacking on cold sesame noodles for most of the weekend, thanks to a craving that hit me during a bout of sleeplessness on Thursday night.  I cobbled together an easy recipe from a few that I found online, which turned out to be quite delicious and not a bad substitute at all for takeout, and marginally healthier if you adopt the few parenthetical modifications I've provided...

Cold Sesame Noodles
Ingredients
1/2lb spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
Chinese cabbage, carrots, and celery shredded/sliced fine (If you are lucky enough to have a Wegmans near you, just use a bag of their Asian slaw)
Bean sprouts
Sesame seeds
1/4c peanut butter (I used natural because I that's what I had, but it's less sweet than normal PB)
1/4c soy sauce (I used low-sodium)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sriracha or other hot sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil

Cook the pasta until al dente and shock in cold water; drain.  In a large bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, and sesame oil.  Add the noodles and toss until thoroughly coated, then mix in the vegetables and sesame seeds.

In my opinion, these are even better leftover the next day, straight from the fridge - the recipe makes a ton, so there's plenty of opportunity for midnight snacking.

047. Complete all "Couch-to-5K" workouts within 2 months - (05/27)
Well, I think my heel is on the road to recovery, finally.  I was NOT pleased to have to hobble around for the past 2 weeks, as the weather was absolutely pristine for jogging and I actually had the motivation and energy to keep going.  Today I (gingerly) restarted week 2, and although my heel was "uncomfortable" and occasionally "achy", I think it's going to be OK.  I'm not in any pain now (although I have been popping ibuprofin like Dr House gobbles vicodin) and the run wasn't too grueling so I don't think I lost much endurance.  In fact, my RunKeeper shows some minor improvement.

ETA: Yeah, big difference between Sunday and Monday.  My feet are NOT happy.  I'm going to run again tomorrow and as long as they don't get worse then I'm not too concerned.  However, I'm wondering if maybe I should try a new pair of running shoes?  Mine aren't really all that old (and certainly don't have many miles on them) but maybe they're the root of this evil.  I just don't want to shell out big bucks for a new pair if it's not going to take care of the problem.  Bleh.

049. Refresh my conversational German skills before November 2010

I bought some language software to help rebuild my German.  It's amazing how much I remember, though, considering I haven't taken a German class in, oh, 17 years (yikes!).  Hopefully a refresher over the next few months will help me to negotiate my way around Germany and Austria this autumn.

044. Post 365 photos - (024/365)
I felt it necessary to modify this goal a bit or else I'm just going to end up posting photos of, like, my sandwich for lunch, or my hall closet.  Yawn, right?  So the new goal is to document 365 photos, and no more than one for any day (so I can't just take 300 photos of my trip to Europe and mark it complete).